"Publishing is pretty opaque; even debut novelists who work in publishing don't seem to feel that they are more in the know.... [T]his Indies Introduce program has been huge. Right now, I'm seeing my book in all of these bookstores and that is just the dream. It is a dream come true. I've also been into my local bookstores, just trying to develop relationships with booksellers. My local West Village bookstore, Three Lives & Company, now has my book, but when I was writing reading lists for these publications, I'd go in and say, 'What are your thoughts about books on this theme?' So, building those relationships throughout the year is my biggest piece of advice."

Vanessa Martini is the lead buyer at Green Apple Books in San Francisco, Calif. She previously worked at City Lights with Paul Yamazaki, where she learned the value of a good drink and a good talk. She was fortunate enough to attend the recent Frankfurt Book Fair on a Books Across Borders fellowship. Here are some of her thoughts about the experience:

I've been a bookseller for 12 years, but the book business is fractal: there's always more to learn. It was in this spirit that I applied for the Books Across Borders fellowship to the Frankfurt Book Fair. This industry is remarkable in so many ways, but one of them is that the high-up decision makers are unusually accessible to frontline retail workers, much more so than most retail jobs allow. Over the years I've had the great pleasure to meet editors, publishers, sales directors, marketing execs, publicists, you name it--but two groups remained elusive: agents and scouts. Who are these people and how do they do their jobs?

Vanessa Martini (2nd from r.) on the Bookselling in Times of War panel (with Erin Cox, Oleksii Erinchak, and Mahmoud Muna).

In my years of buying, it's always benefited me to learn more about the process of how a book comes to be available in a catalog. Who acquired it? Who helped shape its being? Who is in charge of shepherding it into the public eye? So when the opportunity came to see the epicenter of international acquisitions, I jumped at the chance.

The overwhelming impression I came away from the Frankfurt Book Fair with was a renewed sense of awe at just how many hands are involved in the creation of a single book. As you walk the halls--five buildings, several floors each, pavilions and stalls of every size all thronged with people from around the globe--you are reminded again that while there's typically one name on the cover of a book, at every step of the process of a book's creation there are people involved, most of whose names will never see the light of day. From the hubbub of the agents center, to stalls hawking exquisite cover materials to the finest gossamer-thin paper--someone is always there. Their hands were on the book.

And gladly, despite AI's looming presence furrowing many brows, something else that has always been a joy about bookselling was also still true: book people are the best people. I was able to articulate one reason why this is so over a glass of Sekt: "Nobody's dead inside." No one has sold their soul for money in this business–what money? No one tosses and turns at night wondering if their job is morally acceptable. And it shows in the openness to meet new people, the delight in recognizing the name of a faraway bookstore, the willingness to take time to chat with me, a bookseller, not selling or acquiring rights to anything, simply to say hello and talk shop and explain to me what they'd been doing that day.

If you're a bookseller wondering about applying for a fellowship, I can without reservation say you should. The world is full of people who want to meet you.

Thank You Books in Birmingham, Ala., is expanding and potentially doubling its floor space at 5502 Crestwood Blvd., AL.com reported. The bookstore has signed a deal to add the neighboring space formerly occupied by the Total Joint Physical Therapy, which moved to another unit in the Crestwood Village Shopping Center.

The expansion should be completed by early spring of 2026, said co-owner Kristen Iskandrian, adding that it is also the first expansion for Thank You Books since 2021, when it added a larger children's section.

"It will give us more space for our inventory to breathe a little," she added. "We'll have some expanded offerings. We'll continue to do what we're doing, but with more space."

Old Haunts Bookshop will open later this fall in Granite Bay, Calif., the Sacramento Business Journal reported.

The 928-square-foot bookstore, at 8789 Auburn Folsom Rd., Suite C, will sell new titles and a mix of remainders. Owner Ryan Hoyt, a self-published fantasy and horror author and owner of Machete & Quill Press, will focus primarily on adult fiction, though there will be some adult nonfiction and a small children's section as well. Alongside books, Hoyt will carry stickers, bookmarks, stationery, loose-leaf teas, locally made art, and more. 

Hoyt told the Sacramento Business Journal that although there was a great bookstore in Folsom, Calif., "we don't have one of our own here in Granite Bay." On the store's Instagram page, he explained that the store's name evokes "places you remember fondly and yearn to revisit. Think of it also as the feelings you get from a favorite book, or that longing to go back to a fictional world that you love. We hope to bring you that feeling in Old Haunts Bookshop."

Hoyt hopes to open in November, in time for the start of the holiday shopping season.

The Wandering Soul in Sharon, Pa., which was founded about three years ago by Dani Johnson and relaunched an expanded version earlier this summer, will close on November 26. The building where the store is located has been sold and will be under new ownership beginning December 1. 

In an Instagram post, Johnson observed: "These words are not easy to write. This space has been more than a shop--it has been a gathering place, a heartbeat of creativity, a home for stories and art and connection. I've worked hard to keep its doors open, to keep the light glowing warm in the window for anyone who needed a little magic and comfort."

While the physical space will close, Johnson said the Wandering Soul "is far from finished. There are potions brewing, spells being written, and dreams quietly stirring behind the curtains. I can't wait to share more of what's to come when the time is right. In the meantime, please keep an eye out for sales and discounts as we begin this bittersweet transition."

She also expressed gratitude to the Wandering Soul's community "for your love, your support, and for believing in what this space stood for. You've been part of something that meant the world to me, to the artists, and to the authors who brought their magic to its shelves. The story isn't over--we're just turning a page."

Authors (from r.) Laura Dickerman (Hot Desk, Gallery Books); Tracey Lange (What Happened to the McCrays, Celadon Books), and Karissa Chen (Homeseeking, Putnam) read from their books and answered questions at Booked, an author series run by Providence, R.I., bookseller Katie Kinnell (far left). Copies of the books were sold on site by Books on the Square.

"Another day, another dose of dread. Welcome to life inside a horror bookstore." the Dreadful Bookshop, Casper, Wyo., noted in sharing the Instagram Reel, "Day in My Life, Horror Bookstore Edition."

I Wanted to Be Wonderful by Lihi Lapid (Zibby Publishing).

Today:
Good Morning America: Jonathan Karl, author of Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America (Dutton, $32, 9798217047000). He will also appear tomorrow on the View.

CBS Mornings: Cameron Crowe, author of The Uncool: A Memoir (Avid Reader Press, $35, 9781668059432). He will also appear tomorrow on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Drew Barrymore Show: Tom Colicchio, author of Think Like a Chef: 25th Anniversary Edition (Clarkson Potter, $38, 9798217034888).

Late Night with Seth Meyers: Zadie Smith, author of Dead and Alive: Essays (Penguin Press, $30, 9780593834688).

Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Judd Apatow, author Comedy Nerd: A Lifelong Obsession in Stories and Pictures (Random House, $50, 9780593595930). 

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: Nicholas Thompson, author of The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports (Random House, $30, 9780593244128).

Good Morning America: Catherine Newman, author of Wreck: A Novel (Harper, $26.99, 9780063453913).

Sherri Shepherd Show: Brie Larson and Courtney McBroom, author of Party People: A Cookbook for Creative Celebrations (DK, $35, 9780593970027).

Late Night with Seth Meyers: Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben, authors of Gone Before Goodbye (Grand Central, $32, 9781538774700).

Natalia Leite will direct the film adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel's 2009 novel Last Night in Montreal, Deadline reported. The screenplay was adapted by Mandel and Semi Chellas. It is being produced by Simon Faber through his Taiga Pictures banner, with Mandel and Chellas serving as executive producers.

"Last Night in Montreal had me gasping for air at times," said Leite. "It's gripping, intoxicating, and full of surprises as it unravels a central mystery and breaks the reality of its protagonist. I'm thrilled to direct this neo-noir mystery/thriller, so deeply rooted in humanity, from the minds of two powerful writers."

The story "follows Ali, whose life unravels when his girlfriend Lilia disappears without warning from their Brooklyn life on the night he plans to propose. Desperate to understand--and to protect her if he can--he follows the trail to Montreal, uncovering the truth of her past, and finding himself entangled in a dangerous mystery spearheaded by an elusive woman named Mickie," Deadline noted.

Faber added: "Emily's novel is a haunting meditation on the unseen wounds people carry beneath the surface, especially the scars of child abuse and abandonment, and the ways those wounds echo through their lives. With Natalia's distinct vision and Emily and Semi's extraordinary script, I am so excited about the team we are continuing to assemble around the adaptation of this very special piece of material."

The shortlist has been released for the PEN Heaney Prize 2025, which recognizes "a single-author collection of poetry of outstanding literary merit that engages with the impact of cultural or political events on human conditions or relationships." The award is run by English PEN, along with Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann and the estate of Seamus Heaney. This year's winner will be named December 1 in Dublin. The PEN Heaney Prize shortlisted titles are:

Mirror Nation by Don Mee Choi 
No One Will Know You Tomorrow by Najwan Darwish, translated by Kareem James Abu-Zeid 
Something About Living by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha 
Namanlagh by Tom Paulin 
The Banquet by Stav Poleg 
Wellwater by Karen Solie 

Will Forrester, head of literature programmes at English PEN, said the shortlist "celebrates six collections which are--in words that recur in the judges' readings of them--deeply personal, deeply political, and deeply concerned with the power of poetry. This is a shortlist of singular works that find shared interests in language, land, love and loss--and in the social and political conditions that both animate those existential matters and are in turn animated by them. We hope readers newly finding these collections will be rearranged by them just as they have rearranged us."

LibraryReads, the nationwide library staff-picks list, offers the top 10 November titles public library staff across the country love:

Top Pick
I, Medusa: A Novel by Ayana Gray (Random House, $30, 9780593733769). "Medusa--legend, myth, monster--was once an innocent girl named Meddy who longed to see the world beyond her island. Meddy is a mortal born of two immortal sea gods in Poseidon's kingdom. When she catches the attention of the goddess Athena and is taken on as an acolyte in her temple, she thinks she has found her purpose, but a misstep angers the Gods and she becomes Medusa. A feminist tale that will capture readers’ attention from the first page." --Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, Tex.

Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char Adams (‎Tiny Reparations Books, $32, 9780593474235). "An extremely informative and well-researched book on a worthy topic. This comprehensive work looks at Black history in the United States through the lens of Black-owned bookstores, covering their functions as pillars of community engagement and social justice organizations as well. Readers will appreciate the book recommendations and the bookstores listed in the endnotes." --Autumn Raw, Hennepin County Library, Minn.

Cursed Daughters: A Novel by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Doubleday, $28, 9780385551472). "Eniiyi has been haunted her entire life by her strong resemblance to her mother's cousin Monife, who drowned shortly before Eniiyi's birth. She has also been told that the women of her family are cursed to never find lasting romantic happiness. Is there any way for her to break free of her family's painful past? A beautifully told and emotional page-turner about confronting family trauma and finding peace and forgiveness along the way." --Mara Bandy Fass, Champaign Public Library, Ill.

Daddy Issues: A Novel by Kate Goldbeck (‎Dial Press, $18, 9780593730812). "The pandemic blew up every plan Sam ever had post-college, and now she's stuck living with her mom, working a deadbeat job. Her sad status quo is disrupted when Nick moves in next door with his young daughter. As Sam confronts her relationship with her father, she starts a relationship with Nick. This romance hits on the ways the pandemic affected everyone's lives." --Olivia Wojnar, Seymour Public Library, N.Y.

The Ferryman and His Wife: A Novel by Frode Grytten, trans. by Alison McCullough (Algonquin Books, $17.99, 9781643757452). "This tale of a widowed Norwegian ferryman's last day of life is simple, quiet, and effortlessly moving. Nils navigates through his cherished memories, converses with the dead, and reevaluates his connection to all who crossed his path, whether in a single trip across the forge or a decades-long marriage." --Sharon Layburn, South Huntington Public Library, N.Y.

Best Offer Wins: A Novel by Marisa Kashino (Celadon Books, $27.99, 9781250400543). "The housing market can be murder. Find out how far one woman will go when she sets her sights on her dream home. And just when it seems our main character, Margot, can't surprise any more, she stuns readers once again. Once you settle in with this deliciously dark and twisty thriller, you won't be able to look away." --Jennifer Winberry, Hunterdon County Library, N.J.

Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz (Ace, $19, 9780593954300). "Violet's a witch who used her powers for terror and destruction as a sidekick to the ultimate bad guy. Now she's moved into a small village and is trying to start over, running a flower shop. But her landlord doesn't seem to like her, and it's hard to cover up the past. Can she be 'good' and make her new life a success? This is a sweet, cozy romantasy." --Jayna McDaniel-Browning, Delaware County District Library, Ohio

An Academic Affair: A Novel by Jodi McAlister (Atria, $19, 9781668092330). "Sadie and Jonah start off as rivals faking a relationship for job security, and accidentally fall into something real, messy, and deeply felt. With a sharp critique of institutional academia and a great sister-drama subplot, this is set to be one of the smartest, sexiest romances of the year." --India Cureau, Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, Mass.

The Bridesmaid: A Novel by Cate Quinn (Sourcebooks Landmark, $32.99, ‎9781464245695). "The Kensingtons invite you to the society wedding of the decade. There's just one hitch. You might not make it out alive. This book is full of intrigue and suspense that will draw readers into the pitfalls of high-society life, where nothing matters more than your social media clicks and lavish parties. Great characters and a shocking ending." --Karen Troutman, LibraryReads Ambassador, Ind.

The Forget-Me-Not Library: A Novel by Heather Webber (St. Martin's Press, $29, 9781250369277). "Tallulah and Juliet are in need of healing and love from friends and family, and the town of Forget-Me-Not offers that in spades! The lovely townsfolk want nothing but the best for their community and those in need of its special magic. Perfect for readers who want a cozy, magical read to soothe away the troubles of the real world." --Carmen Hughey, Greenville County Library System, S.C.

As she did so beautifully in her novel Brightly Shining, Ingvild Rishøi trains a spotlight on struggling families in Norway during its darkest days in Winter Stories--three brief, unforgettable tales.

Rishøi takes readers into each of the three narrators' dilemmas, using present moments to spark flashbacks revealing what led each to their situation. The narrator of "We Can't Help Everybody" is a mother who has received no child support in three months, who works hard and loves five-year-old daughter, Alexa. She means to use 45 of her last 60 kroner to pay bus fare for herself and Alexa. They'd planned to walk home, but the girl has wet her underpants, and it's a rainy December night. Then they pass a beggar, and Alexa wants to give him money. Even though her mother replies, "we can't help everybody," she gives him a 20-kroner coin, although she means to drop him a 10-kroner coin. They can warm up in the nearby shopping center, she thinks. When a stranger overhears her explaining to Alexa that they don't have enough to buy new underwear, he gives them 200 kroner; Rishøi has brought them full circle, a kind deed paid forward.

A newly freed, formerly incarcerated man wants only to see his son and make him comfortable in "The Right Thomas." Thomas's attempt to buy a pillow for his son's overnight visit nearly overwhelms him, and he is lured by a warm bar. It's there that a woman who pined for Thomas in middle school helps him on his way home before his son's arrival.

In the third and final tale, "Siblings," 17-year-old Rebekka must keep her seven-year-old sister and four-year-old brother safe. She plans to take them to the summer cottage of her best friend, Cecilie. Except Rebekka forgot about the gate at the end of the driveway, and now the snow is deepening as they walk from the bus stop. Once again, a kind stranger helps.

Rishøi links the tales thematically through well-placed turns of phrase, in Diane Oatley's eloquent translation from the Norwegian. Thomas falls in love with his son's mother as much as her peaceful home; Rebekka associates Cecilie and her cottage with calm. Both Thomas and Rebekka "have a plan" to return to those places of serenity, seeking them outside rather than within themselves. In each of Rishøi's stories, chaos halts for a moment, whether by fate or serendipity. She suggests that, whatever may come, perhaps, just for today, that is enough. --Jennifer M. Brown

Shelf Talker: In three unforgettable stories of people struggling to survive on the edges of Norwegian society, strangers provide kindness.